Young Kashmiris pursue dreams in half-burnt school
A group of young girls laze on the grassy lawns of their school, discussing a class test the day after.
The snow-capped Himalayan mountain peaks provide a majestic backdrop to the school building — a picture-postcard setting in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
The school is a half-burnt building, ash lies everywhere on the floor and damaged wooden furniture are strewn all around. The broken walls are blackened by soot, part of the roof gone.
Amid the scene of devastation, students take classes in other rooms of Kabamarg Government Higher Secondary School.
It was one of at least 37 schools set afire by unidentified people in October last year when the Valley was rocked by months-long street protests after security forces gunned down militant commander Burhan Wani on July 8.
At least 100 people, most of them civilians, were killed during the protests. Many children were blinded, some in both eyes, by pellets fired by security forces.
The arson that accompanied the protests destroyed schools and other government buildings in Kashmir. Of the 10 districts of the Valley, Kulgam in South Kashmir was the worst affected with the most number of schools either completely burnt or partially damaged. The government estimates the loss of education infrastructure to be Rs 10 crore. Apart from the physical losses, the educational institutions functioned only for 80 out of 197 working days.